Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Camp Hyannis Weekend 2016 - Post Race Celebration

It's been three days since I crossed the finish line of the Hyannis 10K and I'm still feeling the after glow of a magical and wonderful race and race weekend. Treadmill training helped me with my pace as well as a pre-event ShakeOut massage, garnering the running advice from all the greats...Jack Fultz, Geoff Smith, Bill Rodgers and Jacqueline Hansen plus getting that out on the course hug from Jacqueline Hansen really gave me a boost! My hope was for a sub 1:40 10K because I'd been running over 1:40 and about a 16:33 pace on any distance over a 5K.

After we crossed the finish line, we hydrated and enjoyed the glorious Cape Cod day celebrating what we just accomplished. Five years in the making - an event I never thought I would experience again. So many times on the sidelines and spectating now wearing bling! The woman who I helped pace at the back of the pack, Mary Kate came up to us after she crossed the finish line and I even received a thank you email from her for inspiring her and helping her to cross the finish line in a time much better than she expected and would have had if she were on her own.

I was feeling both hungry and nauseous from pushing my pace. We entered the ballroom and my breath caught. I remembered the day in 2009 after finishing my first half marathon. There was Frank Shorter to greet my shivering self and tell me that he knew I was going to finish Boston because of my grit and determination.

The 99 Restaurant was serving post race refreshments as they had in 2009 and once again I had their vegetable soup. Tom and I sat down and took our post race runfie:

Refueled and refreshed we went by the door to welcome back our L Street Family. What a thrill to be standing there having run our own race and welcome back the conquering heroes of L Street. We hugged and congratulated each other. They went off to get their food and Tom and I were planning to head back to the room to shower but I got a wicked case of the hungries. I could tell that I needed something more substantial than soup, oyster crackers, a banana and an orange. On our way out we stopped to see our results:

I was able to get a congratulatory hug from Dawn Feest of Wag Your Tail. We said how I wagged my tail all the way to the finish line!

We decided to go to Bogey's in the lobby of the Resort and Convention Center. I love walking into a restaurant after running a race wearing my bling and knowing that I am a runner and I belong among runners. The hotel was transformed from a quiet place in the early morning hours to pre race excitement to the joy and satisfaction of having another race and another medal in the books. Bottles of beer, food and loud voices regaling the day filled the room.

I received a message on Facebook from Christine who was Tom's teammate when he ran on the Boston Marathon Miles for Miracles Team in 2011. The last time we saw her was when we did the One Run in 2013. How much healing has taken place in these past 3 years! She ran the marathon relay and was waiting for her teammates to come in.

Another text - "Hey where are you guys? We want to get a group photo?"

The restaurant was filled and Caitlin came in to get us so that we did not overwhelm the restaurant with our L Street presence:

It was time for hugs and goodbyes and to wrap up the post race celebration! PR's and goals exceeded led to hugs and high fives.

Only 4 minutes over my Tufts 10K PR in 2014...after being told in January of 2015 that I wouldn't run again and that if I did it should not be more than a 5K or 5 miles at most...well...um...I ran 6.2 miles and I'm just getting this party started again.

But for now I am going to enjoy the post race celebration knowing I can go the distance!

2 comments:

Hello Mary, Jacqueline Hansen told me about your blog. Delighted to find it and have added it to my list of women running bloggers over 50. Hope it was OK to use one of the photos from your blog. Katie http://runyoung50.co.uk/blog-lists/#usblogs

About Me

"I ran and ran and ran every day, and I acquired this
sense of determination, this sense of spirit that I would never, never give up,
no matter what else happened.” Wilma Rudolph, polio survivor and Olympic
Champion

I've known challenges since I was five years old beginning
with contracting paralytic polio and then enduring nine years of violence at
the hands of family members. Those early challenges helped me to grow into the
woman that I am today and prepared me to take on the challenge of Post-Polio
Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease by Western Medicine Standards.

Diagnosed in December 2006 at the height of my award winning
career as a social worker at the Department of Veterans Affairs, I had done
what I'd always done when faced with life’s trials and tribulations. I got
still and asked for Divine Guidance. It came through my pen, my divining rod of
healing. Poetry flowed inspiring mind, body and soul to heal.

I took a leap of faith in May 2007, leaving my career to go
on a quest to heal my life. The first poem I wrote, “Running the Race,”
foreshadowed my 2009 Boston Marathon run as a mobility impaired runner. I
feverishly wrote poetry harnessing the power of my imagination to heal my life. Eight
years after beginning my quest to heal the effects of paralytic polio and
trauma, after a serious knee injury, I was able to get traction on my healing journey. I became a woman transformed; a woman who goes the distance on the roads and in my life and who embodies the power of endurance.

I am an Author, an Endurance Runner, a Motivational Speaker, Blogger
and Inspirational Poet.

I hold a BS in Communications from Boston University, an MSW
from Boston College and many fond memories of my veterans and their families
who blessed my life when I worked at the VA . I live in Chestnut Hill
Massachusetts with Tom, my husband, my soul mate and the man who has gone the
distance with me for the past 40 years.